Luke is the perfect
boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all
through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up.
But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is
good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker
assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's
sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too
smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks
Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League
education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is
attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she
also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and
sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah
Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning,
and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

Something Specific:

Quotes:

"Nothing happens for ages, and then all the changes come at once." (Hardback)

"'Everything will look better in the morning.'" (Hardback)

"'Life is long. Just because you don't get your chance right when you want or expect it doesn't mean it won't come.'" (Hardback)

"It doesn't matter whether you're the one having to douse a flame or helplessly watching it sputter. Either way, it goes out eventually." (Hardback)

Easter Eggs. There are always little appearances from Dessen's other books, and there were many nice ones in this book. To name a few: Last Chance, Auden and Heidi, and Gert.

Morris. I explain him in the review, but he is such a Dessen character (much like Monica, from The Truth About Forever, is), and I just love him.

"Talk later."

The concept of a dater (active), and a person who just wants to hang out (passive).

Those are just a few, but I don't think I'm going to list everything, although I might add more later.

The Cover:

I actually like this cover. It's pretty, the meaning works with the story in a way. It's not overly embarrassing or anything. It's just generally pretty to me.

Review:

I’m going to admit,
from the very start, that I am a huge Sarah
Dessen fan. Have been since I first read one of her books, and will continue to
be. Her books excite me beyond belief, I love all of them, and I don’t even
think I’m able to give her books any lower a rating than 4 (although her first
couple might come close—I have to re-read them first to find out). Now that
that’s out of the way: this book surprised me in many ways, some of which made
me a little wary and unsure of how I feel about it. But then, again, I also
kind of loved it like I always do, and it has a lot of reasons for me to love
it. I’m a bit conflicted.

Emaline, in the
summer before she goes away to college, is starting to have some problems with
her long-time boyfriend Luke. Her father, who she’s had a mostly internet based
relationship with, is in town with her younger step-brother. Plus there’s this
new, older boy in town, Theo, working on a documentary with a grumpy woman,
starring Clyde, a mystery of a man who lives in town. Then there’s Morris, her
best friend, and Daisy, her best girl friend, who are going out together, but
going to college in very different areas.

First, Emaline’s
family. I love the originality of her family situation. Her mother got pregnant
with her when she was younger, ended up growing apart from her father, and then
Emaline decided to reach out and get to know him, and has thus far mostly had a
relationship with him through email, mostly talking about school. But aside
from that, she has her dad, who adopted her and her mom married when she was
three, and her two older step-sisters, who she all loves. And then there’s
Benji, her father’s son, who she’s just now starting to get to know.

I loved that her
family life was messy, and I generally just loved her family, and maybe even
would have liked more time with her dad, who was so sweet, and Benji, who is
just plain adorable. Her sisters and her fight and argue, but they’re very
close. Her mother has a problem with Emaline’s father, but can’t really do
anything about it. And her father is kind of a misguided jerk.

Now, the romance.
That’s the main point that leaves me so unsure. I don’t want to give anything
away, but it was not what I was expecting. I liked Theo at first, and then not
so much. I liked Luke at first, and then was unhappy with him, and then really
liked him at the end. And I understand what happened at the end, even though
I’m a little unhappy with not knowing what’s going to happen between them, and
even unsure if they should get back together or not. I will say that I’m happy
with the growth that Emaline did in the book—she was in a very good place with
herself by the end of the book, and I’m happy about that.

Lastly, Morris and
Daisy. I liked Daisy, and was happy with her and Emaline’s relationship. But
it’s Morris that I loved. He is such a Sarah Dessen character, I could tell
from the first time he was introduced, and I loved him right off. Morris is
somewhat of a slacker; he moves slowly, he does everything slowly really, and
he has to be told, very specifically, what to do in order to do it, or he won’t
do anything. And his relationship with Emaline is so fantastic. He’s fantastic,
really. And I was so happy with how much he’d grown by the end of the book,
along with where his and Daisy’s relationship was by the end.

The writing, the
development, the characters, everything, was so great. I loved all of it—every
bit. I didn’t want it to end, even as I read it in one sitting, not wanting to
but not being able to put it down. Right after I finished, too, I mourned the
fact that I’m going to have to wait about two years for her next book, and then
promptly re-read most of Dessen’s other books.

I’m a little unsure
of what to rate the book, because of my feelings on the ending, but I know that
it’s no lower than a 4. It’s probably between a 4 and 4.5, really.

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Updates.

9/29/16 (re-edit)My review days are changing to Monday - Thursday. I'm planning to do reviews on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday will be Teasers, possibly with a little wishlist or catch-up included. I am currently moving, and have just started back in school. Third year of college, and working, and I am starting to have very little time for everything. I'm trying to keep up with this, though, on top of it all.

Thanks!-Jude

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Who Am I?

An amateur reviewer, and blogger in general, (hopefully) getting better as I go.
If you have a question, or are interested in sending me a review copy, or for just anything, really, you can e-mail me at: geekyreading@hotmail.com

Ratings and Stuff

I post my reviews on both Goodreads and Amazon (although some do not go on Amazon, if I think it's more of a rant than anything else), sometimes on Powells, and I will post the review somewhere else if asked (although, take into consideration the fact that some websites have a word limit, and some of my reviews exceed that limit).

Ratings:1 Star: It sucked, I had a hard time reading it. Couldn't stand any of the book. (Possibly didn't finish, but I usually don't rate or review those.)2 Stars: Didn't really like it/lower side of just alright.3 Stars: Liked it/was about average.4 Stars: Was really good/loved it/awesome.4.5 Stars: Loved it completely, practically 5 stars to everyone else.5 Stars: I don't tend to give these out, um, ever. It's more common for me to give it to a whole series than one particular book. The best book ever, I hold it above most others, it impressed me and made me unbelievably happy.

Aside from those general ratings, I'll give books in-between numbers. Like, if it was good, but not amazing, I'll give it a 3.5. If it was just alright, but not too bad, a 2.5.

Review Copies: I do accept review copies. I much prefer paper books, but I do read some ebooks on my phone. Also, I do prefer romance, young adult, manga, and erotica. And please, do look at my previously rated and reviewed books to see if yours matches with what I've liked. Thanks! :)Receiving a review copy in no way influences my rating or thoughts on a book.